Naruto Uzumaki: The One and Only Jinchuuriki Puppet Master!
by LordDimir
Summary: Well, as you can probably tell, this is a "Naruto having puppets" fic. So, what would happen if Naruto was given puppets to train with when he was young, and therefore had more time to train and more a specific training schedule? Well, here is my ideas on what would happen. Enjoy. Narutoxmulti !PuppetNaruto
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

It was a peaceful day in Konohagakure. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and everywhere you looked, you could see both adults and children enjoying themselves as the festival went on through the day. It was the day everyone celebrated the death of the 9-Tailed Fox that attacked Konoha eight years ago. Now, normally, more than a few of the villagers would think about this day in anger and then get drunk and slum around town, trying to find the demon incarnate, a young Naruto Uzumaki, as it now came to be known.

However, today, they would all be disappointed to know that their intended target was nowhere near Konoha, in fact, he wasn't even in Fire Country.

No, Naruto had accompanied the 3rd Hokage on a three-week mission that just so happened to overlap with the week-long celebration, and also Naruto's birthday. Never had Naruto been so happy than he was when the Old Man told him that for his birthday present this year, he would be going to Sunagakure on a relations mission.

Naruto had been walking through one of the busy streets of Suna. The old man had a meeting today, just like everyday, so he let Naruto roam around the village after promising that he wouldn't prank anybody. He looked around at where he was. It was the market area, so someone was almost always here either trying to sell you something, or trying to buy something in a hurry, like a last minute anniversary or Christmas gift. Hey, just because they were shinobi, doesn't mean they didn't fall victim to their own memory from time to time.

Today was just like any other day, which meant that the area was packed with vendors and shoppers. Naruto was happy that he had been here for three days, and not once did he get a glare of hatred or get beaten to a pulp. He was just about to leave and go see the old man, when he heard the all-too-familiar sound of crying, although it was faint, his great hearing picked it up. Naruto followed the sound through a crowd of shoppers, he pushed his way through with a series of "Excuse me" and "Pardon me."

When he finally got through the huge crowd, he noticed that he was now on a street that was completely deserted, there was no vendors, no shoppers, hell, there weren't even any bums, drunken or not, hanging around the area. It was just empty, except for that crying sound. Naruto decided to continue to find whoever was crying. He was a little scared, because whenever this happened in Konoha, he was always given a beating from the villagers, but then again, he got a beating from the villagers just for being alive.

Naruto went about halfway down the street when he heard the crying get louder, he then knew that it was coming from an alleyway to the left, so he cautiously walked further into the alley. Naruto couldn't help but think this was a trap, because he had been subject to something like this back home, and got one of the worst beatings of his life, only for trying to stop someone from crying. But this time, he knew it wasn't a trap when he came upon a little boy that looked his age. He had dark red, almost maroon hair that was spiky like his, but not as gravity resistant. He was crying so Naruto couldn't see what color his eyes were, but he could tell that these tears were not the first to be shed by the boy.

"Hey, are you alright man?" Naruto asked, as he slowly walked to the boy.

"Why can't you all just leave me alone?" the other boy screamed out.

"Whoa there, I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to help. Trust me, I know what it's like to be in your position."

"Oh really? How would you know? There's no way you could know how I feel!"

Naruto just sighed, "You're feeling left out, abandoned, excluded from everyone and everything. You've probably been beaten, or at least came close to it, since I don't see any scars. You look like you haven't slept for days, probably too scared to sleep, because you're afraid of what the villagers might do if they find you asleep and defenseless. Look kid, I may not know you, but I do know how you feel, because it's the same way for me in Konoha!" he said, a little angry at the end, not at the boy though, at the fucking residents of Konohagakure.

The redheaded boy had stopped crying, and just looked shocked. He didn't know what it was, but he just lunged forward and hugged the new boy. He started crying again.

"Why? Why do they hate us? What did we do to deserve lives like this?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Naruto said with a determined look in his eyes. Suddenly, both boys felt a strange stirring in their stomachs. They broke apart and lifted their shirts, only to see what looked like auras coming out of these weird seals on them. The auras enveloped them and they felt themselves being sucked into a spinning vortex.

When they opened their eyes again, they were both on the ground, but not of the hard, hot stone of Suna, but rather on a cold, damp floor of a sewer. Naruto stood up first, and then helped Gaara.

"Do you know where we are?" Gaara asked, a little scared.

"No, I don't, I've never been here before. Do they even have sewers like this in Suna?" Naruto asked, a little confused.

"No, we don't, all of our sewage is pumped into a special machine that completely incinerates the bacteria and feces, but leaves the water clean, which is then pumped back to the toilets and sinks, so as to save water." Gaara answered.

Naruto was kind of impressed, that actually sounded like a really cool idea, even in places where water was abundant, like Kiri or Konoha. When he became Hokage, he might look into putting a system in like that. But before he could think anymore, they both heard a voice calling to them.

"Come, come this way, all the answers you seek are here."

Now normally, if they were to hear this, they would turn right around and run away, but, being in a sewer that they couldn't run away from, since there was a wall and no ladder leading up for them, they decided to follow the voice's instructions. Naruto lead the way, and made sure that Gaara was safely behind him.

What they saw was a huge cage. Inside of which, were two beautiful women. They had sad faces on, and Naruto, being as noble and kind as he was, ran forward to see what was wrong.

"Excuse me, but is something wrong? If so, can I help?" he asked softly.

"I'll help as well, if I can..." Gaara added. Even though he was hated and feared, he still was kind at heart, and couldn't stand to see anyone else sad, especially women.

This however made the two women burst out in tears, which in turn worried the two young boys. Without even thinking, they both ran through the bars of the cage and embraced each of the women. Naruto had went to hold the redheaded woman, while Gaara went to the dirty blonde.

When the women felt themselves being embraced, they looked up and latched onto their respective holders.

"Oh Naruto-kun!/Gaara-kun!" the girls both said to the boys.

"We're so sorry, we've put you through so much, and we just couldn't stand it anymore!" the redhead said.

"Gaara-kun, I'm so sorry, I never meant for this to happen!" the dirty blonde said, crying into the young boy's shoulder.

Both boys were unable to do anything else but look at each other in confusion and try to comfort the crying women.

"Please, try to calm down and please stop crying, I can't stand to see such a beautiful woman crying." Naruto said to the woman in his arms.

"Yes, what he said." Gaara said.

This made the two women calm down. They started giggling and wiped their tears away.

"You are so kind Naruto-kun, don't ever change."

"You are too Gaara-kun, and so sweet." the blonde said while holding said boy's cheek in her hand. This brought a blush to both of the boys' faces.

"I'm sorry, we never got the chance to introduce ourselves, even though you seem to know who we are. I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"And I'm Gaara of the Desert."

"We know silly. I'm Kyuubi, and this is Ichibi, we're the demons sealed inside of both of you." the redhead, now known as Kyuubi said.

"Gaara-kun, I know that you never knew about me, but I'm why the villagers in Suna treat you like that." Ichibi said with tears in her eyes again.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, and I'm the reason that the villagers in Konoha treat you like a demon..." Kyuubi said, tears now rolling down her cheek.

Naruto was stunned, as was Gaara. They now knew why they were treated as such. They started connecting the dots. For Gaara, the assassination attempts, the looks of fear and hatred, and the way everyone tried to give him a wide berth no matter where he went. For Naruto, the beatings, the names, and the looks of pure unadulterated hatred.

"So, we really are demons..." Naruto said, letting his arms fall to his sides as he fell to his knees beside Kyuubi, Gaara did the same thing by Ichibi.

Smack! Smack!

"Don't you ever say that again!" came from both the demons' mouths as fresh tears fell.

"Neither of you are demons, you are both the furthest thing from a demon!" Kyuubi said.

"Yeah, you two are two of the sweetest, nicest boys on the planet. Those idiot villagers just don't know the difference between the kunai and the scroll it's sealed in." Ichibi added.

Their words, and their not-so-gentile bitch slap across the face, brought both boys out of their stupors. They both looked at each other, and nodded. They now knew that they had someone who understood each others' pain. They stood up and embraced each other in a brotherly hug. Even though less than an hour ago, they had never even known the other existed, now they felt like they had known each other since birth. They then turned to their respective tenants.

"Alright girls, we're sorry for instantly thinking the worse about us, and we thank you for bringing us back to reality." Naruto said.

"Yeah, thank you for everything, not just the reality check, but also for protecting us when we were growing up, we both know that if it wasn't for you two, we would both be dead. Ichibi, if it wasn't for your sand, I would've been dead too many times to count." Gaara said, smiling at the woman.

"And Kyuubi, if it wasn't for you healing me every time I was beaten, I would have died the day after I was born." Naruto added, smiling at Kyuubi as well.

"You don't hate us?" they both said softly, not believing their ears.

"No, of course not, how can we hate someone who saved our lives not once, but many times?" Naruto said with a grin.

"Yeah, I mean, it's actually quite the opposite." Gaara said with a blush. He never really knew about love, but he felt some sort of strong feeling toward Ichibi, it would still be a few years before he would be ready for that kind of feeling, and h knew the same was going through Naruto's mind.

The women looked relieved beyond comparison.

"Thank you two so much, we wanted never more than to have you guys not hate us, but before this, we thought it would be a long shot." Ichibi said.

"Yeah, and we're sorry, but we are running low on power keeping this dual mindscape going, so you two have to leave for now. But, if you want to talk to us, just think it, and we'll hear it if you mean for us to." Kyuubi said.

Just as she said, both Naruto and Gaara felt a pull on their stomachs as they felt themselves going back through the vortex. They woke up on the ground in the alley they were in before.

"Um... Naruto? Did that really happen?" Gaara asked, hoping that it had and wasn't just a dream.

"I think so, if you remember it, and I remember it, it must have happened." Naruto concluded.

"Um... I'm kinda new at this, but would you like to play with me at the playground?" Gaara asked nervously.

"Of course, we're brothers now, just lead the way." Naruto said with a smile.

Gaara grinned bigger than he ever had before. "Okay, it's this way..." He said, but as he put his hand on the wall next to him, a trapdoor opened up beneath them. They both let out a scream as they fell, but because they were alone in an alleyway, and no one was near them, their yells went on deaf ears.

After they hit the ground, they looked around to see that they were in some sort of bunker. They saw that the trapdoor had closed up and a set of lights turned on to reveal the rest of the room. There was a workbench that had every kind of tool imaginable, and even some that left one to imagine what they could possibly do. To the side there was a stack of scrolls, and upon further examination, they were listed to contain many different types of woods. Beside the stack of wood scrolls, there was another pile of scrolls simply listed "Building Materials" above the stack. Naruto was confused to no end at the weird assortment of items, he just figured this was an old workshop for a craftsmen who dealt with wooden contraptions. It wasn't until Gaara pulled on his sleeve to turn him around that he found out what kind of wooden contraptions exactly the former owner made.

After he turned around, Naruto saw that the entire back wall was filled with puppets of every shape and size. There were some that resembled both animals and humans, but there were also ones that didn't resemble anything other than shapes. Naruto had heard the old man talking about Suna having a Puppet Corps during the last war, so this must have been one of their old workshops.

"Wow, this stuff is pretty cool, huh?" Naruto said, going over to look at the puppets, he knew that a lot of Suna shinobi liked to use poison on their weapons, so he didn't touch anything.

"Um...Naruto, I don't think we are supposed to be here..." Gaara said, sounding somewhat scared.

Naruto picked up on this, "What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

Gaara didn't say anything, but just pointed to a huge symbol painted on the wall. Naruto looked at the symbol, and couldn't see what scared Gaara so much. It was just a big red scorpion.

"What's so bad about that?"

"Naruto, that's the symbol of Sasori. He is a missing-nin who used to use human bodies to make puppets." Gaara said, "This must have been his secret hideout."

Naruto walked up to the symbol and, on instinct, ran his hand over it. Suddenly, a scroll popped open on the wall. Naruto and Gaara read it.

"Greetings. To whoever found my secret hideout, I congratulate you. Many have tried to find this place, but none have succeeded until now. I am currently not a ninja of Suna anymore, due to my, shall we say, morbid obsession of making human puppets. As such, I have no use for this workshop anymore, so instead of it just going to waste, I am now giving everything in here to you. Do with it whatever you want. I would be more than happy for my teachings to help another shinobi rise up as a fellow puppet user and hope that one day, if the fates allow, we get to face off in a spar. After you finish this message, just swipe some blood on the seal on the bottom of the paper. It will then open a vault behind this wall that contains scrolls and other various items that will help anyone become a decent puppet user. After that, you are on your own. Good luck. Signed, Sasori." Naruto read out loud.

"Hey Naruto, maybe we should let someone know about this..." Gaara said.

Naruto thought about it, "Well, do you think that I might be able to have this stuff, you can give some of the already made puppets to the village, but can I have some to practice with until I can make my own?"

It was Gaara's time to think, "Why not? Besides, there aren't many puppet users left here, so you might as well take it, I'll let you have three of the puppets, and I'll take the rest of them back to the Kazekage so he can deal with them. Maybe Kankuro will finally be able to use an actual puppet."

"Who's Kankuro?" Naruto asked.

"It's my older brother, he's been trying to make puppets to use, but he keeps stealing my sister's dolls to make them. All he ends up doing is destroy them, which makes Temari, my sister, pissed off and she hits him over the head with her fan." Gaara said with a snicker.

Naruto laughed with the redhead, it was nice to know that Gaara would have siblings to help him out when he had to leave in two weeks. Naruto sobered up when he thought about it, he finally had a brother, and he only had two more weeks to spend with him.

Gaara noticed Naruto's expression and said, "What's up Naruto? Why do you look so sad all of a sudden?"

"Well, it's just that, I only get to stay here with the old man for another two weeks..."

"Wait, by old man, do you mean the Hokage?"

"Yeah, I came with him, we're here for some diplomatic mission or something, he just asked if I'd like to come with him, so I did. I'm glad I did though, because now I have a brother, right?" Naruto said with a smile.

"Right, of course, we'll be brothers forever, no matter where we live, deal?" Gaara said, returning the smile. He was sad that Naruto had to leave so soon, but he knew that neither of them would forget about each other.

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**-Two Weeks Later-**

The two weeks had gone by so fast. Naruto had spent the whole time either playing with Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, who he had met the day he met Gaara, or he had been practicing doing the chakra strings needed for using puppets. He had gotten to being able to use two strings, but he still had some troubles using the puppets with them. He found out that it was because he didn't make the puppets, so he either had to practice with them for years to master them, or make his own. Naruto had elected to do both, but only start the latter when he got back to Konoha, so he had more privacy.

Today was the day that Naruto and the Hokage were scheduled to leave for Konoha, so they were at the gate about to leave when they heard a shout.

"Wait! Naruto, wait up!"

Both of them turned around to see Gaara, his siblings and the Kazekage walking to them. Well, the Kazekage was walking, the kids were running as fast as they could to Naruto.

"You didn't think you could leave without saying good-bye, did you?" Gaara said, pulling his brother into a hug.

"Of course not, I just didn't know how to get a hold of you." Naruto said. At this time, the Kazekage got to the group.

"Sorry about this Hokage-sama, but my children wanted to say their farewells to young Naruto here." he said.

"Oh, no problem at all Kazekage-sama." the old man said with a grin.

Naruto, however, was stunned, "You're the Kazekage's kids?"

Said kids just grinned, "Yeah, sorry about not telling you, it just didn't come up." Gaara said with an embarrassed grin.

"Yeah, we were having so much fun just playing like normal kids that it just slipped our minds." Kankuro said, "Sorry Naruto."

"Yeah, sorry Naruto-kun." Temari said, with a blush. Over the last two weeks, she had grown to have a crush on her blonde friend. Unbeknownst to her, Naruto had one on her as well, but he, being Naruto, had no idea how to talk to girls, or know that she liked him back.

"No worries Gaara, Kankuro, Temari-chan. I'll see you guys later, okay? Be sure to keep in touch, alright?" Naruto said after hugging each of the kids, Temari's hug was a little longer than the others, which brought a smile to both of the Kages.

Naruto said good-bye once more as he and the Hokage turned and started walking out of the front gate of the village.

"Good-bye my brother." Gaara whispered out just as Naruto's image dropped out of his vision on the horizon.

_**Well, here is another story I've been thinking about lately. I kinda like the use of puppets in battle. I have a lot of ideas on how Naruto could use them, but I will only continue this if people actually like it. I'm not going to force you to read this, but I might put out a few more chapters if my muse stays with me. So, don't judge it completely bad just from this chapter.**_

_**Now, when it comes to the Bijuu, I needed a reason for Gaara and Naruto to bond, and what better way to bond than finding out that you are both jinchuriki? Plus I think that Gaara would be even greater if he wasn't completely insane for most of his life. That's why I had the Ichibi become a woman, which would make more sense if he called her "Mother", wouldn't it?**_

_**As for Naruto's skills, it will be a powerful Naruto, but he will have to become powerful, as he won't be able to take out the Kages and the Sannin right off the bat. He will have to work for it, but him having his puppets as his main skill, plus some other jutsu to make sure he won't be completely helpless if they are destroyed or his chakra strings are broken. **_

_**So, as always, let me know how you feel about this. This is just an intro chapter, so the next one will be longer if I continue. Please, no flames, just constructive criticism. **_

_**Also, I'd like to just point out, I've started using a new dividing system when it comes to my stories, because the lines I've been using haven't been uploading. Just wanted to make sure everyone knew so they didn't think it was someone else writing it or something.**_

_**Until next time,**_

_**This is LordDimir, saying Good Night and Good Luck.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Without further ado, here is Chapter Two! It is a lot longer than my normal chapters, so I hope you enjoy the length. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any other trademarked items that I base my ideas from.**_

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It had been a full five years since Naruto had left Suna with the Hokage. No one but himself and Gaara even knew that he now had the use of puppets and the various jutsu associated with them at his disposal. However, keeping this a secret had proven to be very hard for him, since his apartment was broken into and trashed almost routinely all throughout the year.

Naruto had taken to living in a forest training area in the village. He had heard about it from eavesdropping on some shinobi who were eating at Ichiraku's one time. They had said they not many people go there anymore since it was getting a little out of hand in difficulty from all the wildlife that had multiplied greatly in the past few years.

Naruto had gotten all of his valuables, which included his puppets and his money bag that was shaped like a frog. He had woke up one night, after hearing a shuffling near his bed. He was scared that a villager had broken in to beat him again, but he calmed down after he saw the new money bag on his nightstand. Beside it was a note that simply read "I'm sorry for not being able to be here more often Naruto. Please forgive me. - J." Naruto had never found out who this "J" was, but he planned to find out one day. He had asked the Hokage the next day, but he just received that old "I'll tell you when you're older." answer he got whenever he asked about his parents.

Naruto had just woken up from a very peaceful sleep. When he had first started living in the forest, he had been targeted as prey by many of the animals that lived there already, but he had beaten them all when they attacked and asserted his dominance as the Alpha Leader of the forest. Now none of the animals messed with him, hell, they all thought of him as family now and helped him out whenever he needed it. He had also, unwillingly, met a young lady, a few years older than him in the forest one day.

**-Author Style: Flashback no jutsu!**-

She was training there one day when the glares of the villagers had got to her. She hadn't planned, however, to get cornered by a whole pack of wolves. She knew that she was going to die, since they had stalked her until she was low on chakra from the heavy training session she had just completed. She was tired, both physically and mentally, when they finally attacked, hoping to get an easy meal. She had defended herself valiantly, but ultimately it was pointless. No matter what she did, they always got back up and attacked again. She had accepted her death when a blur of orange and yellow jumped in front of her. The wolves now had on a scared look on their faces and backed away slowly from the boy. After they had taken off when they thought they were at a safe distance, the boy turned around.

"Don't worry, they're gone." he said and extended his hand to her. She took it cautiously, after all, if a whole pack of wolves that had almost killed her were frightened by this boy, she should be as well, right?

"Who are you and what did you do to get those wolves to leave?" she asked.

The boy just smiled, "Well, to answer your second question, they just know not to mess with the Alpha. As for your first question, isn't it polite to introduce yourself first, especially if the new person just saved you from being torn apart and eaten?"

"You're right, I'm sorry. My name's Anko Mitarashi."

"Well, it's always a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady, Anko-chan. I hope that they didn't rough you up too much before I got here."

"No, I was tired from my training session, and then they attacked before I could leave. I was too tired to get away. Why did you save me though? You don't even know me." Anko asked, she still had trust issues ever since Orochimaru left. Plus, she had been trained to not even bother saving strangers by him.

"Well, first of all, I couldn't let those wolves kill such a pretty woman. Secondly, one should need a reason to do the right thing, and saving a person's life is the right thing to do." he said with a fierce look of determination in his eyes.

Anko blushed, normally when people flirted with her, they were just trying to get into her pants, so she just ignored them or beat them up if they went too far, but with this boy, his compliments were getting to her. She didn't know if it was because he saved her, the sheer power she could feel from him, or the look of determination in his eyes, but she felt attracted to this boy that was a few years her junior.

'Oh no, I hope I'm not getting that Snake Bastard's attraction to little boys' she thought.

"Well, anyway, do you need help getting back to the entrance?" he asked her.

"No, I'm fine...Whoa!" she said as she tried to take a step, but fell as she now felt the pain of the leg she broke when one of wolves clamped down on it.

Naruto rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground however. 'Such speed...' she thought.

He then picked her up bridal style and started jumping through the trees toward the entrance. She blushed at being held like this, but she enjoyed it for some reason. She hadn't felt the amount of care this stranger was showing her ever before. She unconsciously put her head on his shoulder as he was carrying her.

When he got to the entrance, he didn't stop like she thought he would, but rather he continued to the hospital. He placed her down gently into a wheelchair and was about to push her inside when she stopped him.

"Why are you taking care of me like this?" she asked.

"Well, you wouldn't have been able to get back to the entrance with your leg like that, let alone the hospital, but even if you had miraculously made it here, you would've bled to death, since the bite you've got is deep." He said factually, but then he got on a flirtatious smirk, "Plus I'm not complaining at having a beautiful woman in my arms for a longer time either."

Anko just playfully punched his arm and smiled, "Thanks, for everything. But you still haven't told m your name."

"Oh, that's right, sorry, I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." he said as he was wheeling her inside. He pushed her to the front desk and addressed the nurse on duty.

"Excuse me, but this lady needs your help, fast before she bleeds to death." he said in a calm voice that caused the nurse to look up. She had on a hate-filled look on her face s she saw him, but when she glanced down to Anko's leg, she screamed out.

"What did you do this woman, you demon! I'm calling the ANBU for this! You'll finally be killed for this you filthy demon!" she yelled angrily and hit an alarm that called the ANBU and the Hokage.

Naruto's eyes widened, as did Anko's, but before she could say anything, Naruto took off, even faster than he had been when he saved her. Anko saw the orange blur leading away from the hospital, just seconds before the Hokage, flanked by ten ANBU, dropped down, ready to kill whoever was attacking the hospital. When he saw no immediate threat, he turned to the nurse on duty.

"What was the meaning of hitting the alarm? It is only to be used in the case of an attack on the hospital!" he said in an angry voice.

"But, Hokage-sama, that demon boy, he attacked this young lady. I knew that is was my duty to call you before he attacked someone else!" she stuttered out, right before the Hokage lunged forward and slit her throat open instantly. He then turned to the rest of the hospital staff, who had on a terrified look on their faces.

"You all know the law, if I hear anyone call him that again, you will be tortured, killed, and then you're entire family will be killed!" He said in a serious voice that even scared Anko. He then turned to her and said, in a softer voice and expression, "Now, young lady, tell me what happened."

"Well, I was training in the Forest of Death, and after my session was over, I was about to leave since I was tired from training, when I was surrounded and attacked by a pack of wolves. Normally, they would be not match for me, but since I was completely tired, they had overwhelmed me. One of them bit my leg, and I fell. They then came in for the kill when Naruto-kun jumped in and saved me. Then, after I tried to walk, and started to fall since my leg was broken from the bite, he caught me and carried me here. He pushed me in in this wheelchair, and told that nurse that I needed immediate medical attention. That's when she started screaming at him for "attacking me" and called him a "filthy demon" and then hit the alarm." she informed him. She then thought about what she just said.

'Wait, did I just call him "Naruto-kun"?'

'Did she just call him "Naruto-kun"?' the Hokage and the ANBU thought.

"Thank you for your side of the story, Anko. Nurses, get her the medical attention that she's needed, and send the bill for it to that piece of trash's family." He said, indicating the now dead nurse. He then left along with the ANBU.

Unbeknownst to any of them, however, a certain demon container watched and heard the whole thing from his hiding spot just outside the hospital. Even with all the information he just heard, he only had one thing on his mind.

'Did she just call me "Naruto-kun"?'

**-Author Style: Flashback no Jutsu: Release!-**

Naruto had just gotten dressed after waking up. Today was the day that he had been waiting for. He was finally going to be able to graduate today! He had been practicing really hard for this day, for after today, he no longer had to hide the fact that he could use puppets, or any of his other skills. He had been hiding his real strength for today, because he was going to surprise Iruka and Mizuki right out of their pants, figuretively that is, hopefully.

He had arrived at the academy with about half an hour before the final bell rang for class to start. He noticed that he wasn't the first to get there, though. He saw that Hinata had gotten there before he had, and she had taken her seat near the back of the room, close to his usual seat, he noticed. He had known about her crush on him almost as soon as it had started, but, unfortunately, he needed to keep up the "stupid Naruto" act, but that still didn't mean that he couldn't flirt. Which he did to all of the girls he met, even the elderly ladies. It didn't hurt that, with his training, he had become very handsome, so he had managed to get a lot of people to stop thinking of him as the demon container, and start thinking of him as the handsome flirt. It had paid off as he had gotten further than just flirting with some of the girls.

He giggled perversely as he thought of the girls that he had been with. He had never went all the way with any of them, much to their disappointment, but he wanted to save that for a special someone he had in mind. He had, however, did pretty much everything just shy of it though. He had gotten a well deserved reputation, and he loved it. He loved flirting with girls, even if they didn't return them. He really loved making girls blush, and as such, Hinata was one of his favorite flirting victims as his friends had come to call them.

He walked over to Hinata and took the seat right next to her.

"Why, hello there Hinata-chan, and may I say that you are looking as lovely as usual." he said with a smile, which made her blush violently, "Why Hinata-chan, you are really red, are you too hot or something? It is actually pretty hot, now that I think about it. I really shouldn't have this jacket on." he then took his trademarked orange jacket off, showing that he was wearing a tight black shirt underneath that showed his muscles off very well. He then looked over to Hinata, and saw that she blushed even more, if that was even possible.

"Hinata-chan, you look really hot in that jacket, why don't you just take it off, maybe that will cool you off some?" he said with an innocent smile. At that moment, she abruptly fainted. He caught her head before it hit the desk though, and he gently set it down.

"Naruto, do you always have to do that?" asked a voice in the front of the room. Said boy turned around and saw one of his best friends/brothers.

"Why, of course Sasuke-kun, would you love me if I didn't?" Naruto said in a sweet voice. Sasuke just punched him on the head in response.

"Shut up Naruto, if you want to swing that way, that's fine, but leave me out of it!" Sasuke said with a smirk. He knew that Naruto was fiercely straight, as was he, but he knew that just the insinuation would get to the blonde.

"Now just you listen Sasuke!" Naruto said, and then noticed that a large group of their classmates had entered, unbeknownst to the black haired boy, "I'm sorry, but I'm not into the kind of stuff, I like girls, and I'm sure you can find the boy of your dreams, but it just isn't me, so please stop begging!"

Sasuke's eyes just widened as he noticed that everyone, including Iruka, had heard Naruto. "You're going to pay for that one Naruto! I'm not gay!" he said as he tackled the blonde boy.

"See, someone help, he just can't stay away from my fine body!" Naruto yelled with a smirk.

Everyone just sweatdropped, as this was an almost daily occurrence for the two best friends. Iruka just let them fight, as they never really hurt each other, and it was just a playful tussle. Sasuke's fangirls, however, did not ignore it.

"Naruto-baka! Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" Ino yelled.

"Yeah, just stay away from my Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled at the same volume as Ino.

This stopped the two boys, and they stood up. Sasuke took this time to run back to his seat next to Naruto's seat.

"Ah, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, may I say that you both look as beautiful as the goddesses you are." He said as he quickly bowed and kissed a hand from both of the girls. This brought a blush to both of their faces, even though it was a daily occurrence, just like they boys' fights. It also served as a useful tool to shut both of the wannabe banshees up.

After they shut up and he saw their blush, Naruto just disappeared and took his seat next to Sasuke and Hinata. After he did so, the bell rang as Mizuki walked into the room.

"Did I miss something again?" he asked as he saw a passed out Hinata, two blushing banshees, and Naruto and Sasuke laughing and using each others' backs for support.

"Nothing important, just the daily routine." Iruka said as he pulled out a box of headbands with the Leaf symbol on them.

"Oh, is that all?" Mizuki said with a smirk.

"Yep, alright, it's time to begin the exam." Iruka said, the last part louder to get the attention of the class.

"Alright, for this exam, we will test you one by one. Everyone will go outside the room and wait in the hallway until your name is called." Mizuki explained.

"Yes, the test will be over the Transformation jutsu, the Substitution jutsu, and the Clone jutsu." Iruka explained after Mizuki was finished.

"So, without further ado, will everyone leave, sans Shino Aburame."

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After about half an hour, there were just three students left, Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino. Sasuke's name had just been called, but before he walked inside, he turned back to Naruto.

"Wish me luck bro?"

"Oh please, you don't need luck, man. You've got this in the bag." Naruto replied with a smirk.

Ino screeched her own wishes of luck for her crush as he quickly shut the door when she started to wail. Naruto just winced at her voice, and decided to flirt with her, 'That ought to shut her up.'

"So, Ino, looks like we're finally alone, huh?" Naruto said with a seductive voice and a smirk. The redness that came to her face let him know that his plan was working.

"Shut up Naruto-baka!" she stuttered out.

Naruto feigned hurt, "Why Ino-chan, your words, they sting my heart so much!" he said and grabbed onto his heart like to was trying to burst from his chest, "Here I was, just trying to express my deepest feelings for you, and you just shoot me down quicker than Hinata-chan faints."

Ino knew that he was messing with her, but still, his acting was perfect, because a part of her actually started believing him. She shook her head of those thoughts, since Sasuke-kun was the only man for her. But the blush was redder than ever as he spoke yet again.

"Ino-chan! I shall venture forward from this day onward to vanquish whoever had stolen your heart! I shall beat them until you return my feelings!" Naruto said in a heroic speech-like voice, he had even, somehow, obtained a big rock to hoist his leg up on, to look even more like a noble prince. Ino, of course, was speechless at this.

This was also what Sasuke had entered into when he left the classroom.

'Don't do it Sasuke! DO! NOT! ASK! IT!' he thought to himself, but before his thinking brain could stop it, the still stunned part of his brain made him say it.

"Um...Did I miss something?"

'DAMN IT!'

Naruto, now noticing Sasuke in their company, said, "Oh, nothing, other than the fact that I now have to vanquish you to obtain Ino-chan's hand."

"Why did I even ask?" Sasuke said, his hand slapping his face.

Suddenly, Naruto did a double-take on Sasuke, and then jumped down and, in his most loud and obnoxiously noble voice, said, "Sir Sasuke! I challenge you to a duel to the death, the prize is none other than the hand of this beautiful princess behind me!"

Sasuke just shook his head as the students heard a voice from the classroom shout, "NARUTO UZUMAKI! GET IN HERE AT ONCE!"

Naruto just jumped over Sasuke and ran into the room, leaving the blushing girl and his, still head-shaking, best friend behind him.

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Naruto entered the room, only to find one set of eyes glaring at him in anger, and another to be looking at him nicely.

"Naruto, what the hell was all of that out there?" Iruka yelled angrily, "We heard it all the way in here!"

"Well, sensei, that was my attempt to actually have some fun while waiting for my turn without my best friend, because if I didn't find another outlet, I probably would have just made another prank..." Naruto said ominously.

Iruka's and Mizuki's eyes both widened and they then sat as rigid as they could, as if their slightest breath would set off an elaborate prank. Naruto just smirked, 'Well, looks like they learned not to underestimate my pranking ability.' he thought to himself.

Iruka then shook his head and said, "Alright Naruto, let's get started..." They were then interrupted by a knock on the door. They all looked over to see a young ninja, there wasn't anything really special about him, other than the fact that he looked completely out of breath.

"Iruka Umino?!" the new ninja asked frantically.

"Yes, that's me." Iruka said.

"You need to come with me, right now! A package just arrived, in your name, and it seems to be something very important for the village. Hokage-sama has requested you to come, immediately." he said, panting slightly with each pause.

Iruka nodded and then turned to Naruto, "I'm sorry Naruto, but it seems that we will have to postpone yours and Ino's test until I get back..."

"Well, Iruka-san, I'm sure that both of these kids are excited to show their skills, so, why don't I do the tests, well, until you get back, that is." Mizuki said.

"Well, that seems fine, is that alright with you Naruto?" Iruka asked, his head turned back to Naruto.

"Yeah, sure, I mean, it isn't like it will affect my overall grade, right?" He said as he shrugged it off.

Iruka just nodded and followed after the young ninja, who had finally caught his breath.

Mizuki then turned to Naruto with a clipboard in hand, "Alright, it's time to begin, first, the Transformation Jutsu, go ahead when your ready." Mizuki said, although he should have known something was up when Naruto just smirked and did a hand seal.

With a poof, Naruto disappeared and in his stead was a beauty of a woman. Her long, blonde hair fell down her back, her eyes held a seductive look in them, and the smoke that surrounded her naked body was so tantalizing that Mizuki had to stop himself from trying to jump her bones right there, the fact that it was really a 13 year old boy had been thrown out of his mind when this sexy girl appear.

Suddenly, there was a huge streak of red, as Mizuki was thrown back into the wall behind him from the massive nosebleed he gained from the jutsu.

Naruto, who was happy his new technique worked so well, undid it and started smirking, "So, Mizuki-sensei, I didn't know you were such a pervert!"

Mizuki shot up, somehow he had found toilet paper to stuff up his nose. "Hey! I am not a pervert!"

"Sure you aren't, just like I hate ramen!" Naruto said with a snicker.

"Oh, shut up and get ready to do the next test!" Mizuki said, shaking his head of the thoughts he had just had about his transformed student.

"Alright, what do I have to do?"

"Well, it's the Substitution Jutsu, so, when you give the signal, I will gently throw a kunai at you, and you will substitute yourself with an object in the room, or somewhere nearby. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready, go ahead." Naruto said.

"Alright." Mizuki said as he threw the kunai.

It had looked like it went right into Naruto's chest, but after a poof of smoke, it was revealed to not be Naruto. It was, however, a newly skewered orange book entitled Icha Icha.

Mizuki's eyes widened as he screamed, "My Precious!" and leaped over the table and tried to save his book. After he heard Naruto's insane laughter, and realized just what he was doing, he quickly stored the book back into his pouch and jumped back into his seat.

"I mean, I have never seen such a book before. Where did you happen to find that Naruto?" he tried to ask calmly, but only ended up making Naruto laugh more.

After a minute, things got quiet again and Naruto asked, "So, it's the Clone Jutsu now, right?"

"Yeah, go ahead and create three clones that look like you." Mizuki said with a grin.

"Okay, no problem." Naruto then did his trademarked cross hand seal and said, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Suddenly, three perfect replicas of Naruto were standing beside him, all of them grinning as wide as the original.

"So, do I pass?" Naruto asked with a wide grin.

"Well, that certainly was impressive Naruto, I can't believe that you have learned such an advanced technique, but I'm sorry, you fail." Mizuki said with a look of sadness in his voice.

Naruto's grin slowly turned into a frown, "But, why? I did everything you asked of me, didn't I?"

"Well, that's just the thing Naruto, while I'm very proud of you for being able to make Shadow Clones, the test was over the original Clone Jutsu, and I can't pass you, knowing that everyone else showed their mastery of the jutsu." Mizuki said, "I'm sorry, and I really wish I could, but I can't."

Naruto felt like he was just stabbed through the heart. All his training, with the puppets and without, was now for nothing. He could never become a ninja, since this was his last opportunity to pass the exam. He just slumped his head and started walking out the door.

When Ino saw him, she was ready for his constant flirting, but rather than hear the rather complimenting words, she heard nothing. She looked at him, and saw that he looked like he had just been told that everyone he knew was dead.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked tentatively.

Naruto just shrugged past her and went out the door leading to the Academy training grounds. Here was where the families of the students would pick up their kids, and since this was their graduation day, there was a huge party going on. Once the adults saw him, however, their looks turned from happy smiles, to hateful glares. Naruto then saw that his friends were coming over to congratulate him, but he just took off from them. He just couldn't face them after this final attempt to join the shinobi forces of his native village.

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Naruto had been sitting on top of the Fourth Hokage's head for about ten minutes now. He had been thinking about his new life now that he couldn't be a ninja. He knew that no one would hire him, except maybe the Ichirakus, or maybe the Hokage could find him someplace to work, since he wouldn't be able to do missions to earn money now. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt someone appear behind him.

He turned to see one of the ANBU the old man had assigned to be his personal bodyguards. This one was the pretty woman with purple hair who wore the cat mask.

"Oh, hey Neko-chan, what's up?" he said, not really wanting to talk to anyone yet.

"Naruto-kun, Hokage-sama wants to talk to you. Please, come with me?" she asked nicely. Even though the ANBU were supposed to be serious and nameless, Naruto had grown on her, since she had taken care of him along with the Hokage when Naruto was just a little infant.

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Naruto said, getting up, and walking over to her so that she could grab his shoulder and then transport them to the Hokage's office.

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After they had arrived, Sarutobi was waiting for Naruto's usual greeting of "Hey Old Man!", but when he heard nothing, he looked up from the document he was signing. Naruto couldn't even seem to look at him in his eyes. This put the Hokage off his game slightly, as Naruto, even when he knew he was being reprimanded for a prank would look him in the eye.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" he asked the boy.

"Nothing Hokage-sama, what is it that you need?" Naruto asked respectively, still not looking the the old man.

This threw everyone in the room for a loop. Not once, in his entire life, had Naruto called him 'Hokage-sama.' He had always called him 'Old Man' or "Old Fart" or something along those words. Sarutobi decided to address this sudden change of personality a little later, and chose to address his most recent prank.

"Naruto-kun, I was wondering what you have to say about your latest prank?"

Naruto then looked up at the old man in confusion, "But, I thought that I had already been punished for putting all those raccoons in the nurses' break room?"

Now it was the Hokage's turn to look confused at Naruto, "No, I was talking about your prank on Iruka today. The one where you sent him that package."

"Um...What are you talking about? That wasn't me." Naruto argued.

"But, Naruto-kun, there was a letter written in the package that said, and I quote, "Ha! Ha! I got you good Iruka! Signed, Naruto!" and it was attached to a pair of pink panties." the Hokage said, trying to keep the laughter from his voice.

"Okay, first of all, I'd never leave a note on any of my works of art. Secondly, that was a prank? A package of panties and a note? That's all? Please, if it was me, I'd have the package set to when it was opened, it would shoot a big puff of sneezing powder mixed with itching powder. I'd also have the panties soaked in special hormones that would send the falcons in the mail office try to breed with whoever touched them." Naruto said, his mind going through other pranks that he could have played in place of the stupid joke that someone had attempted to blame on him.

This explanation made the Hokage think about all of the pranks Naruto had pulled, and he remembered that Naruto was right. He never left notes, or even his name on any prank he had pulled, hell, he somehow didn't even leave his scent or fingerprints.

"Wow, you're right Naruto-kun, I'm sorry for thinking it was you. Besides, I would have been more angry that you had seemed to lose your touch." Sarutobi said with a smirk.

"Hey! I'll never lose my touch, Old Man! Besides, even though he's tough on me sometimes, I'd never call Iruka-sensei anything other than that, 'Iruka-sensei'" Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Oh wow, you are right, how did I miss that?" the Hokage said, more to himself than anyone else, "Anyway, how did the test go Naruto-kun? How did Mizuki react when you did the Shadow Clones?"

Naruto then looked downcast again, "Well, he said that he was impressed, but that he couldn't pass me, since I couldn't do the original Clone Jutsu."

This put a confused look on the Hokage's face once again, "But, Naruto-kun, the test is over any Clone jutsu, not just the original, most people don't even do the regular one, unless it is one of the civilian's children, like the Aburame use the Bug Clone for their test."

"But, then why did Mizuki fail me then?"

"I do not know, but I will look into it. But in the meantime, I'm using my powers as Hokage to officially name you as a Genin in the Konoha ranks." Sarutobi said with a smile as he handed a headband to Naruto that he pulled out of his desk, "This is a special headband, Naruto-kun, as this one belonged to your father, I'm sorry that I can't tell you more about him, but I thought that this might cheer you up a little. Was I right?"

Naruto was stunned as he slowly took the offered headband. He didn't have anything of his parents', not even a picture. But now he had his father's old headband. Tears formed in his eyes as he launched himself over the desk and tackled the Hokage in a hug, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Yes, of course this cheered me up! I'm finally a ninja! I had thought that I wouldn't be able to be a shinobi! Thank you so much!"

Every adult in the room chuckled at Naruto's childish moment, especially since it was the polar opposite of his previous mood.

"Alright Naruto-kun, you can leave for now, I'll investigate the prank that tried to frame you and why Mizuki tried to fail you, and also add you into the roster officially." Sarutobi said, smiling at his surrogate grandson.

"Yes, sir!" Naruto said with a mock salute and then jump out of window. He didn't even have the chance to put on the headband before he jumped.

"That boy is going to be a great shinobi someday, well, greater than he already is." Sarutobi said to himself, but the rest of the ANBU in the room nodded their agreement.

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Naruto headed back to the mountain and sat on the Fourth's head again, but this time, he was ecstatic. He sat back down and decided to put his headband on. But then he felt a presence behind him, so he just slipped in inside his pocket. He turned to find Mizuki standing behind him.

"Oh, hey, Mizuki-sensei." Naruto said downcast again. He knew that the man had tried to purposefully fail him. Now he just wanted to know why. If it was just because he contained Kyuubi, or something else...

"Hello Naruto, how are you doing?"

"Alright, I guess. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with my life now that I can't be a ninja."

Mizuki hid the smirk from his face as he said, "You really want to be a ninja, don't you?"

"Yeah, more than anything, that way I could become Hokage one day and have everyone's respect."

"That's a mighty big dream, Naruto. You do know that the Hokage is the greatest ninja in the village, and to become one, you must become a great ninja yourself, right?"

"Yeah, I knew that the old man was awesome, but I knew that I have always wanted to be the one to replace him as Hokage one day."

"Naruto, the live of a ninja is not an easy one, by far. A ninja has to live everyday like it is a constant battle, every time you open your eyes in the morning, you face the chance that you will have to kill, or be killed that day. You might see your friends die, right in front of you, as well. Could you be able to handle all of that?"

"Yes, I know that it would be hard, but I was more than willing to do whatever it takes to become Hokage, even if it means risking my life." Naruto said with determination. Even though he was just playing Mizuki for information, every word he said was the truth.

Mizuki just smiled at him and said, "Well, it looks like I'll have to tell you, won't I?"

"Tell me what?"

"Well, while I hated to have to do it, you did fail. But, there is a secret way to become a shinobi of Konoha. A different test, one that is incredibly more difficult, but anybody who does it earns the right to be a ninja."

"Really?! What is it? Can I do the test?"

"Well, it's normally a huge secret, but since you are so determined, I'll tell you. In the Hokage's office, there is a vault. Inside of which, there is a scroll, called the Forbidden Scroll. It is huge, so you couldn't miss it. The test is a simple one in its steps, but difficult in practice. You must infiltrate the Hokage Tower, find the vault and break in, take the scroll, go to a specific clearing in the forest, and learn at least one jutsu from it, before anyone catches you. The test shows that you have what it takes to be a ninja, even if you failed the original testing in the academy."

"Wow, so, if I did this, I would be able to become a ninja?" Naruto said. He put his entire pranking skill of acting to use when he acted completely surprised. He knew that there was no way that this was real, and he knew that the Hokage would just love to hear about this.

"Yeah, just like us, so, anyway, what you want to do..."

Mizuki spent the next five minutes detailing the 'test' to Naruto, who paid attention to every word he said like his life depended on it.

Afterward, Mizuki left to make sure his plan went over well. He had originally been upset that the original forest clearing he had planned was now being used as a teamwork-building exercise site for Guy and his students, but he had then thought about the Forest of Death. He knew that Naruto wouldn't know about it, nor about the ferocious creatures that inhabited it. He also knew that no one usually went inside of it, except that Anko woman. But he knew that she was gone on a mission at this time, so the timing was perfect.

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Naruto had just finished telling everything to the Hokage. They were now devising a plan to trap the rogue ninja.

"Well, I know that most people don't know this, but I've been spending a lot of time in the forest." Naruto explained to Sarutobi.

Even though he already knew, Sarutobi was still surprised. Fully grown shinobi didn't like that place, and this boy of thirteen had been living in the forest for the past few years.

"Alright Naruto-kun, while I trust you more than any other person in this village, I, as Hokage, just cannot give you the Forbidden Scroll, even though we are both sure about your abilities, since so many things could go wrong. So, I will be giving you a duplicate scroll that has nothing inside of it, that should be enough to fool him..." Sarutobi would have continued, but the door burst open to reveal one Anko Mitarashi, who was a little out of breath and still had the dirt on her clothes from her mission.

"Hokage-sama! I just got back and heard that Naruto-kun didn't pass the exam! I know that something must have happened, because he...is...good...enough..." she said, not noticing said blonde until the very end of her outburst.

Both of the men in the room just smirked and Naruto said, "Oh, hello again Anko-chan, I'm glad to see that the 'Naruto-kun' I heard in the hospital that day wasn't a mistake." This made the older man chuckle at the blush that formed on said woman's face.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked confused.

"Well, we were just discussing Naruto-kun's first mission as a shinobi. It seems that this might be a mission that suits the both of you, since it will take place in the Forest of Death." the Hokage said. He had wanted this is to stay only between Naruto and himself, but now that Anko was here, it was perfect. Naruto wouldn't be going into the situation without backup, and Anko was one of the people he knew that he could trust, even though others might not have the same opinion.

Anko was even more confused, "What kind of mission shall we be going on? Because I had planned on relaxing after my last mission..." she said.

"Well, this is an S-rank mission that is extremely important to the future of the village." Sarutobi said seriously, this shocked the woman.

Anko knew that she had to accept the mission, plus, if it was in the Forest, they would both have the home field advantage. Plus, even though she was tired, she knew that she could handle herself, and with Naruto there, she had no worries.

"Alright, I accept the mission, Hokage-sama, what is it?"

"Well, it seems as if Mizuki has turned rogue. We suspect that he went through an elaborate plan that involved getting Iruka away from judging Naruto's graduation test, during which he failed him, even though he performed better than any of the other students. He then planned to trick Naruto into stealing the Forbidden Scroll, putting the blame on him, and leading him into the Forest where he most likely planned to kill the boy, make it look like he got eaten by the wildlife, and steal the scroll for himself, or someone else."

Anko was surprised at this, she knew that there was no way that Naruto could have failed the test, but still, this seems way too elaborate for Mizuki to come up with.

"Hokage-sama, I was wondering, this plan of Mizuki's, it seems way too big for him to have come up with. He might really be working for someone else that has plans to destroy the village with its own secret jutsu."

"Exactly what I was thinking, so the mission is to capture him alive. Now, Anko, we need to make sure that you are seen away from the Forest, as to avoid his suspicion that you might be in the Forest, so, Naruto, you will Transform a clone to look like Anko, and have it do things that are normal for her after a mission. I'll leave you two to come up with the finer details, but I need to impress the serious detail that you will not have backup for this mission, so it falls onto your shoulders. You are dismissed."

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Naruto and Anko had then spent the next hour or so in the Hokage's office, going over the details of Anko's normal hangout spots.

"So, all he will have to do is go and eat some dango, and then go out drinking until he passes out?" Naruto asked, with a smirk.

"You say it like it's such a bad thing!" she said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, no, of course not, I just wanted to make sure I got it down." Naruto said with the smirk still on his face, "Alright, I'll make the clone, and then you transport me to my apartment, and then go and hide near the meeting place."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the plan." she said, still a little annoyed.

Naruto made his hand seal and created the clone, who already looked just like Anko. He then felt her hand on his shoulder, and then he was suddenly in his apartment.

"Wow, Naruto-kun, I thought that your apartment would be a little more tidy than this..." Anko said, looking around at the trashed apartment.

"Well, it would be, if it weren't for the idiots who break in here every day or so an break anything and everything they can get their hands on." said in, more annoyed than angry. This surprised Anko, since if it were her apartment, she would have just killed whoever did it, and be done with it. She didn't know why, but she felt herself becoming more and more interested in this young man with every passing day.

Anko just nodded at the boy, said a quick "good-bye", and was about to leave, when Naruto got a smirk and grabbed her hand. He placed a kiss on the back of it and said, "Good-bye milady, I anxiously await when we will be together again!"

This made Anko blush even fiercer than she had been. She was not a girly girl, by any means, but that didn't mean that she like it when she was talked to like a princess. It made her feel special, even if only for a short time. She just smirked a the boy and grabbed his face and pulled him into a long kiss. After they broke away after a few minutes, she stated breathlessly, "I await our being together again as well, my Lord." She then let go of Naruto and disappeared, with a wink, to head to the Forest and wait.

Naruto was stunned, but then he smirked and chuckled, "Now, that's a woman who can play. I like that."

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It had been a few hours since Anko and Naruto had separated. Naruto had just started their plan, and by doing so, he had every other ninja looking for him, since for all they knew, he had stolen the Forbidden Scroll.

The blonde boy was now sitting in the predetermined meeting place in the forest. He was about to go looking for the traitor, when Mizuki jumped down in front of him.

"Good job, Naruto, I see that you've gotten the scroll." he said, smirking. He knew that his plan was a success already, now all he had to do was kill the demon brat and take the scroll to Orochimaru.

"Oh, hey Mizuki-sensei, I'm sorry, I didn't have time to learn a jutsu, since it took me a while to get here, since there are a lot of animals here. Did you know that?" Naruto said innocently.

"Yeah, I knew that Naruto, it was all part of the test. It's okay that you didn't learn a jutsu, since the test was only really about stealing the scroll. Congratulations, you've passed. Come over here so I can give you your headband." Mizuki said, trying his hardest to keep the victorious smile from his face.

Naruto got up and started walking toward the rogue ninja, but stopped a few feet away from him.

"Oh, wait, don't worry Mizuki-sensei, I don't need a headband, since I've already got one." Naruto said with a smirk and pulled said headband out of his pocket and quickly tied it around his head, "Oh, and another thing, you're under arrest for treason and planning to kill a fellow Konoha shinobi. You can either come quietly, or we can do this the fun way."

A shocked Mizuki just stood there, then he started laughing.

"Please, first of all, you piece of trash, like you could even touch me. Now, I was going to kill you quickly, and then tear up your body, but now I'm going to do it while you're still alive." he said before attacking Naruto. He rushed in, thinking that this one punch would end the fight and take the boy out of commission fast, but he was sorely mistaken when Naruto just caught his fist. The boy didn't even flinch, or move for that matter.

Naruto just yawned after catching the fist, "Is that all you've got? I've seen a rock fight better than you." he said with a smirk.

This just made the older man even more furious. Mizuki just jumped back and threw his huge shuriken at Naruto. Naruto just sidestepped it like it was nothing.

"Oh, come on, it you are going to fight me, at least make me sweat a little."

"Shut up you demon!" Mizuki roared and went through some hand signs, **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"**

A ball of flames was shot at Naruto, who knew that it was now time to show everyone what he could do. He quickly ran his hand over a seal tattooed onto his forearm. With a puff of smoke, a huge centipede appeared. If one were to look at it, one would see that it was a puppet rather than a living creature. After Naruto applied the chakra strings to it, the centipede went into action, namely wrapping itself around Naruto. This new armor stopped the fireball in its tracks.

"W-What? T-T-That's impossible! Only Suna ninjas use puppets! How can an idiot like you even use the chakra strings?" Mizuki yelled.

"Easy," Naruto said as he was unwrapped by the puppet, "I've been acting like an idiot ever since I began training. I knew that if I showed any real promise into becoming a threat, then the stupid civilian council would have me either killed or exiled. So I chose to make everyone believe I had no hope in becoming a ninja, up until the graduation test, which you failed me in all for your plan. I went to the Hokage and asked him, and he made me a ninja. When you came to me with your "test" I knew that you were a traitor, so I took it up with the Old Man, and guess what? I now have a mission to arrest you. You should consider yourself lucky, since you will be the first, other than myself, to witness what my puppet can really do."

Naruto then twitched a finger and the centipede flew at Mizuki. It wrapped itself around the older ninja and tightened up to prevent him from escaping.

"You know, I'm still kinda pissed that you failed me on purpose, but you're lucky that the Hokage wants you alive for questioning. Isn't that right Anko-chan?" Naruto said as Anko jumped down after hearing her name. She was stunned that Naruto had puppets as well, but she shrugged it off for another time.

"That's right Naruto-kun. For now, it looks like we've accomplished the mission, let's go back to Hokage-sama and report it." she said, but before they could move, they heard Mizuki laugh a dark and menacing laugh.

"So, what is this? The Snake-bitch and the Kyuubi demon working together? Oh, whoops, I wasn't supposed to mention that, was I? Did you know that Naruto? That you really are the Kyuubi? Yes, it was sealed inside of you the night that the Fourth Hokage died! You killed him, you demon!" he yelled out, trying to get the blonde ninja to mess up so he could escape, "Do you really think that they'll accept you, either of you? The student of one of the greatest traitors in Konoha history? Or the demon who killed the Fourth? Please, why do you think that they treat both of you so badly? Did you think it was because of the pranks Naruto? No, it's because you are the Kyuubi!"

Mizuki's plan, however, didn't go as planned, since Naruto just started laughing. Quite hysterically actually. This put Anko off for a few seconds, since she thought that the young boy might have snapped or something.

"What?" Naruto said after he stopped laughing so hard, "Do you think that I already didn't know why they hate me so? Do you think that I don't know that I hold the Kyuubi inside of me? Do you think that I don't know that, no matter what I do, they will always hate me? Please, I've known for five years, and that's why I've spent every waking moment training. Training to become the strongest shinobi in Konoha, if not the world. I know that the hatred might never go away, but I'm prepared to do what I must to earn the respect from the villagers. I don't need any Forbidden Scroll or to become a traitor like you Mizuki to become strong. I'll become strong all by myself if I have to. I know that many will not accept me, no matter what I do, but that will not stop me, it will never stop me. I have too many people who I care about to even think for one second that betraying this village would be a good idea. Although I do commend you Mizuki, it was a good move to mention the fact that I hold the Kyuubi, as it is still an instant death sentence, am I correct?"

Anko just nodded dumbly at his question. If she was stunned by the puppets, no words can describe how she felt now. She could barely even move from the shocked feeling she had. She had known about the boy and his tenant, but she never even thought that he would have already knew about it. Let alone that this boy of thirteen would be so mature about his situation, and to have thought this all through. She just stood there, jaw dropped open slightly, although one thought was going through her head.

'I wonder if I'm one of those people he cares about...' She didn't know where that thought came from, since she hardly knew the boy, but still, she could feel something inside of her hoping beyond hope that she was. This confused her as well, she was twice his age, why would she be feeling like this? Hadn't she kept away from men ever since Orochimaru defected? Hadn't she never felt like this toward anyone before? She, a woman who had never even kissed a man, despite whatever rumors were flying around about her said, never would have even thought in a million years that she would find a man that she felt was worthy to be with her, and her with him. But here was this boy, this blonde enigma, and he had completely turned her world upside down. She knew, in her heart, that it was love that she as feeling for this boy, no, for this man. But she forced the feeling down, as she knew that she would have a Snow Style jutsu's chance in Suna of being with him.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Mizuki, who was now thrashing around violently, trying to get out. He was struggling against his puppet prison, hoping that he could find a way to escape this capture and report back to Lord Orochimaru.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Naruto just said with a grin, "You see those legs holding you, if you struggle too much, they will inject a poison into your body that will kill you faster than Guy on coffee and meth." This stopped the rogue ninja from moving, as a look of fear spread over his face. Naruto had neglected to tell him that he had to make the poison activate in the legs, but thought that if he had revealed his, the fear factor of them might make be diminished.

"So, Anko-chan, hows about we take this piece of trash to the Old Man? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to have such a gift, don't you?"

Anko smirked, "Oh yes Naruto-kun, I think that this is a great gift to give him for our first mission."

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After they exited the Forest, Mizuki in tow, the two ninjas started hopping from rooftop to rooftop toward the Hokage tower. They were about three blocks away when they were surrounded by no less than ten angry looking shinobi.

"You! Uzumaki, you have betrayed the village and stolen our Forbidden Scroll. You are under arrest for treason and shall be sentenced to death!" One of the ninja shouted. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized him from the mobs that used to chase and beat him.

Before any could even move, Naruto just pulled the "Scroll" from his behind his back, "Oh, you mean this old thing? I don't need it anymore anyway, so I guess it's useless now, isn't it?" he said with a smirk and a wink to Anko as he pumped some chakra into it, and the huge scroll caught fire and burnt to a pile of ashes in his hand.

To say that the others were shocked that he would do such a thing would be an understatement. They just stood there as Naruto shook the ashes from his hand and watched as they sailed away on a passing gust of wind.

"That's it demon, it's finally time for you to die!" the same ninja said as he charged at Naruto. Anko moved to intercept the man, but suddenly, the man just stopped. His eyes widened in fear as the life drained out of them. Nobody had actually seen it happen, but the twenty or so kunai sticking out of his back were a good indication that this was what had stopped him.

Out of the shadows, the Hokage, flanked by two ANBU, walked out. He had on his full robes and hat, and had a stern look on his face. His normally kind and soft voice was gone and was replaced by a deep, booming voice that demanded respect as it said, "For attacking a fellow Konoha ninja, and for breaking a law that is an S-class secret, your sentence is death. Now, would anyone care to attack Naruto again?"

At everyone's shaking heads, even Naruto's, the Hokage just turned to Naruto.

"Good work, Naruto, Anko. You both have caught the traitor who had planned to steal the scroll, and actually managed to control yourselves from killing him. You will both be receiving a bonus for the hard work I'm sure it took to restrain yourselves." The aging man said with a chuckle.

"Thank you Hokage-sama. Would you like us to head back to your office to discuss the mission in finer detail?" Anko asked, bowing slightly as she did.

"I think that Naruto can give the report by himself, if that is okay with you, Anko?" The Hokage said with a voice that made it sound more like a command than an actual question.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Anko said as she bowed and left. The other shinobi left as well, along with the ANBU, with an unconscious Mizuki tagging along. The elderly man just put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and transported them back to his office.

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After the two shinobi were back in the office, the Hokage did a hand sign and the room was surrounded by a faint green light. After the light subsided, the older man went around his desk and took his seat. He gestured for Naruto to have a seat as well.

"So, Naruto, may I ask? Where did you learn to use that puppet, and better yet, how can you use that puppet? You have so large a chakra supply that you can't even do a basic clone jutsu, and yet you have the chakra control to use chakra strings?" the Hokage now said with a dumbfounded look on his face. Naruto just had a smirk on his face.

"But, a shinobi should never reveal his secrets, right old man?" the boy asked, his smirk getting bigger.

"Naruto, you can trust me, and I'm asking this as both the Hokage wanting to know exactly how strong his shinobi is, and as a grandfather to know just how proud I should be." he said with a kind smile. Naruto just blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, the 'where' was when we were in Suna all those years ago, when I first met Gaara, we had just gotten on good terms when we fell through a trapdoor. The trapdoor led to an underground bunker that was once someone named Sasori. He had left a note that said that anyone who was to find his hidden bunker would be able to take whatever they wanted from it, including all the scrolls teaching about the making and upkeep of puppets, and how to use the puppets. Gaara let me take some of the already made puppets and all the scrolls in there. It took me about a year to get the chakra strings right, since they took a whole lot of control, and as you said, I have a huge amount of chakra, so it took extra long, but with the control exercises he had in some of the scrolls, it wasn't too hard to get the right control. It was pretty cool when I got the ability to walk on water and up through the trees..."

"Whoa, you can water-walk too?" the stunned Hokage interrupted.

"Oh yeah, I have been able to for about four and a half years. Now, as I was saying, after I got the chakra strings perfected, I started using the puppets that I had brought from Suna, but I found that, while I could make them move, I just couldn't get the feel of them. This was from them not being my own, handmade puppets, but rather another man's creation. So then I..." Naruto continued his story. Telling the flabbergasted elder man all about his puppet making skills, the fact that he had mastered, by himself and in less than five years, what most fully grown adults couldn't even do, and the fact that he had been pretty much living in the Forest for years. Needless to say, the Hokage was more than a bit speechless at the end of the explanation from the young boy. While a part of him was proud of his adoptive grandson, another, much bigger, part of him was filled with regret and shame, at himself. While it was well and good that he _said _that Naruto was his grandson, his actions thus far have not necessarily shown his commitment to said words. Sure, he had had everyone who publicly attacked the boy put to an instant death, but what had he actually done with the boy, other than the occasional treating him to ramen? Hell, until Anko ran across him in the Forest, he hadn't even known that the boy even knew about it, let alone live in it. The elderly Hokage lowered his head in shame and let a lone tear fall from his right eye. He found himself shocked at this, since he hadn't cried, even remotely, since he became a ninja, and yet, here was this lone tear, full of shame and regret, falling down his face, leaving an icy cold trail down his wrinkled cheek. He was glad that he still had his oversized Hokage hat on his head, as he didn't want anyone, especially Naruto, to see him in this state. He quickly wiped it away, now feeling the coldness in his palm. He clenched his fist, resolve now on his face. He was more determined than ever to prove that Naruto was his grandson, no matter what. He looked up at the boy, who had on a look of confusion at the Hokage's new resolve.

"Well, Naruto-kun, it seems as if you've been really busy, especially if you can defeat someone who is Chunin level. Well, as a present for making me so proud, and for your graduation present, how about I take you out shopping? I know how much you like orange, but such a bright color on a shinobi is not a very good idea, unless you were to live in Suna, or someplace where orange is the natural color of the landscape. Since we live in Konoha, and much of the world has a darker colored landscape, I think that it would be better to have a darker wardrobe, don't you?" the Hokage said with a smile. He did a hand seal and the seals around the room did another faint green glow as the barrier around it fell.

Naruto thought about it. While he did like orange, he especially liked the fact that it made people underestimate him, since it was easier to kill a person who wasn't completely on their guard, but the old man did have a point. If he was on a mission, no matter what it was, it would be better to be able to sneak through an area rather than stick out like Guy in a group of Hyuugas.

"Alright Old Man, you've got yourself a deal. I'll get rid of these old things, but on the condition that I get to keep at least a little orange. Sound okay?" Naruto said with a grin.

"That sounds reasonable, but I'll be the judge of just how 'little' the orange will be. I may be old, but I still know a thing or two about how shinobi should dress." Sarutobi said with a smirk.

"Yeah, the man in a white dress is going to give me fashion advice."

"Hey! This is not a dress! It is the Hokage robe! It is traditional that the Hokage wears it!"

"Yeah, sure it is, even though I don't remember ever reading about any of the past Hokages wearing such a dress, other than on special occasions." Naruto came back with a smirk.

"IT IS NOT A DRESS!" the Hokage yelled out, not noticing that Anko had entered, after seeing the barrier fall.

Said woman was now rolling on the floor laughing at the old man's expense. The Hokage blushed, which was kind of weird looking for both of the others in the room. Naruto then joined Anko on the floor, as he saw that not only Anko had heard, but everyone else waiting outside the door, which included all of the Hokage's ANBU guards, a few jonin coming to report a mission, and a very stunned secretary. Everyone else sweatdropped at the Hokage, making him slap his face at his foolish actions.

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_**Author's notes time everyone! **_

_**I'd like to apologize for the long update time between this and the first chapter, but I just started writing, and made this quite a bit longer than my normal chapters. I hope that you all enjoyed it. I won't promise that every chapter will be this long, but I will try to make them a bit longer from now on. I'm trying to make a little bit higher standards for myself when it comes to writing length. **_

_**This past week, I've been spending all day, everyday babysitting my nieces and nephew, so I had no time to actually sit down and type. That and the fact that no place in town had free wifi kind of hampered any plans for uploading...**_

_**But now that I'm back home, I can upload more. So no need to worry for any of my fans, if I have any, I'm back and ready to type until my fingers bleed, or just shy of that, actually. If any of you have read both of my Naruto stories, this one and TONL, don't worry, I'm not going to favor either one over the other, so I will be working on them both, along with my Harry Potter readthrough, and another fanfic I've started for Harry Potter.**_

_**Also, as for Naruto's puppets, the centipede puppet he uses in this chapter resembles the Centipoid from Bakugan, only wooden and without the round shields on the back of it. I've tried to describe it as well as I could, but for the whole picture, you can just look it up if you want to visualize it in real life. This specific model came when I was trying to think up some puppet ideas. I just couldn't get Centipoid out of my mind, so I decided this will be the first puppet Naruto made, or rather, the first one that he uses of his own creation. It was not his first puppet made, that one will be revealed in a later chapter, after I've gotten all the kinks out of the details for it in my mind. **_

_**Also, I had a review from the first chapter from God of Cake, which is an awesome name by the way. But, before I answer them, I would just like to state: THE CAKE IS A LIE!**_

_**But anyway, back to their question. They asked if Naruto would be using human puppets. The answer is that there is a strong indication in my mind that he will, but it will not be for a while. Yes, he does have the knowledge, but one: he hasn't had any suitable candidates for it yet, and two: he still feels like it is a little wrong. He will grow out of the second feelings, somewhat, but he will never just kill for the sake of upgrading his arsenal. If he makes any human puppets, they will be either people he respects and/or who are strong, like if he killed Orochimaru, you can bet everything that he'd make a human puppet, while he doesn't respect him for his atrocities, he will realize that he was a strong ninja, and a puppet with his abilities will be extremely useful. His human puppets will be like Sasori's in that he will have really strong ones, like the Kazekage of Sasori's, but he will also have a huge army of them, like Sasori's 100 puppets, at least, I'm pretty sure that it's 100. **_

_**But for now, that's all I will say, I don't want to give everything away, especially since I haven't even thought it all through yet. Just note, that anything I say now, might not always be the case later on as the story progresses, as I might change the plot multiple times to better fit my writing ability and the story that has already been written. Such as, if I make Orochimaru die from other causes, like if Jiraiya kills him before he's introduced to Naruto or whatnot. I'm just saying that this story, along with all of my other stories is not on one set track, since I'm coming up with new ideas every time I sit down to type out a new chapter. **_

_**Also, if I do make any continuity mistakes, please, feel free to call me out on them. I am not now, nor will I ever be perfect in my writing or my memory of every single word that I wrote so far, especially if the story gets a lot bigger, as I plan on making all of them do, well, except maybe the readthrough of the Harry Potter books, I might make a sequel of it after the seventh book, and all arrows point to me doing that, but I'm not sure. As I don't know how long it will take me to even get there. **_

_**Well, sorry for such a long Author's Note, especially after such a long chapter, but for now, I will leave you with this, and I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Since it is completely different from TONL, it's been fun playing with characters that won't get more 'screen time' in that one.**_

_**As always, this is LordDimir, saying Good Night and Good Luck!**_


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